Competitive Starts Workout
by Steve McGill

This month’s workout is one that is designed specifically to prepare for the big championship races at the end of the season, since that time is upon us in most parts of the United States. This time of year, I’m big on the idea that “iron sharpens iron,” meaning that the best way (and perhaps the only way) to get better this late in the season is to do competitive practice reps against a teammate of similar ability. This type of workout would be nice to do throughout the competitive season, but it becomes essential as the season winds down. Anything that a coach can teach in regards to technique cannot be ingrained in time for the race, so now it’s time to just be a beast, just be an athlete, and to put yourself into the race mindset. 

With this workout, not all the reps are done side by side. Typically, but not always, the workout will go like this:

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• After the initial dynamic warmup, which will end with three full-speed 40m sprints from a standing start or three-point start, we’ll set the hurdles up and get to work.
• The athletes will do one or two starts without commands over no hurdles, but past the first hurdle. Each athlete will be in their own lane. 
• On their own, with no commands, each athlete will do at least one rep over one hurdle, over the first two hurdles, over the first three hurdles, and over the first four hurdles.
• Once we get to five hurdles (and keep in mind that all hurdles after the first hurdle will be moved in one foot), then I’ll give commands, with each hurdler going individually.
• (Our aim throughout the process up to this point is to do only one rep as we keep adding a hurdle. A bad rep means an extra rep that is going to put more pounding on the legs, which we’re trying to avoid.)
• Now, the peak of the workout begins. We will do three reps over six hurdles, with commands, with the hurdlers running beside each other in adjacent lanes. The rules that apply in a race apply to these three reps. Adding a finish line after the sixth hurdle is optional, but advised. The distance to the finish line off the last hurdle should be the same as it is in a race.

The mindset of the athletes during these reps is simply to compete. The only technical issues we might address will be block-start-related, not hurdle-related. And even regarding the block starts, any adjustments will be extremely minor — relax the neck a little more, get that back foot more firmly on the pedal, etc. Stuff that requires minimal thought. 

This kind of workout gets the athletes into the same mindset they need to have in a race — just go! And run on instinct. If you hit a hurdle, recover and keep going. If you make a mistake over one hurdle, fix it over the next hurdle. 

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